Tag: God’s perspective

View From the Top

Lisa Preuett

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to New York City for a fast-paced, adventurous get-away with my mom. A popular landmark constantly being pointed out to us was the Chrysler Building. This skyscraper stands strong at 1,046 feet tall with 77 floors. Straining your neck to look at it from the ground, it towers over you with its monstrous stance. Insurmountable. Overwhelming. You can’t even fathom how tall it is.

The_Chrysler_Building.2  2ndCB

 

But just a few days later we ventured up to the top of the Empire State Building. Once we finally arrived at the observation deck, we peered out at the magnificent view in front of us. We tried to point out the landmarks we’d previously seen. Suddenly it came into view. There it was!

The Chrysler Building….

empirestateview

Really? Was this the same building we observed earlier?

The same building that appeared monstrous, insurmountable and overwhelming now looked much smaller! From the view at the top, you could see the entire building without straining your neck. You could see for miles! The view was breathtaking and spectacular.

The difference between the ground view and the top view was PERSPECTIVE.

As I looked out over the magnificent view of New York City, a powerful truth hit me hard:

From our perspective, the challenges and trials we face appear to be insurmountable, monstrous and quite overwhelming. But from God’s perspective, our challenges and trials are part of a magnificent and spectacular plan that only He can see all at once!

As humans, we will never have the top-of-the-observation-deck view of our lives. We will not be able to see the whole picture but only one part at a time. But we can trust our faithful God because He always has the upper view of everything.

We can absolutely trust Him with the things we can’t see.

The challenges that seem overwhelming.

The trials that threaten to strain our souls.

Yes. That is what true faith is, dear friend! Trusting God with the things we can’t see, knowing that He sees it all.

Where are you today? Are you looking up at something that seems overwhelming? Is there a challenge smack in front of you, crowding your vision?

I encourage you to run to your Heavenly Father to the top of the observation deck. Take his hand and let him lead you out to a place of rest. Let your soul soar with peace as you gaze upon the spectacular purpose He has for you.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is like a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.

Blessings to you, dear friend!

Lisa Preuett

 

Resistance Builds Strength

Lisa Preuett

Ephesians 6:10   Be strong in the Lord, in the power of His might.

These words from Ephesians are written on the wall of my fitness center. Sitting firmly lodged in place on a weight machine, I push with all my might against the resistance of the weights I’ve measured out. Breathing deeply and gritting my teeth, I attempt to increase the amount of weight my flimsy muscles need to get toned up. To get stronger.  As difficult as it sounds, that’s how it works. If you want your muscles to get stronger, there must be resistance or you won’t see any progress.

With sweat pouring down my face, I glance up and stare at the powerful words from Ephesians again. This is when I hear the soft, gentle whisper of God in my soul:

Just as your physical muscles can only be strengthened through resistance, your faith and trust in Me can only be strengthened through resistance.

As much as I know this is true, my flesh doesn’t like it at all. My flesh sometimes rears its ugly head and shouts back out of fear, worry or anger. What if God doesn’t come through? What will happen IF? Why did this happen to me and not someone else?

And then God in His patience and grace continues to speak lovingly to me in that still, small voice:

Trust me. Don’t worry. Don’t try to take control of things that aren’t yours to handle. The resistance you’re experiencing will make you stronger in your dependence on me.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes experience this resistance with my husband. With my children. With my own selfish thoughts that don’t line up with God’s. Or I’ll feel this resistance while sitting in a traffic jam that is making me late to wherever I need to go. Even the little things can cause resistance like dishes left out, clothes not put away, a mess not cleaned up, a dropped call in a no-reception area, or a computer not working the way it’s supposed to!

Seen through my own human eyes, these things are obstacles. Interruptions. Irritations. Frustrations.

But seen through God’s eyes, these things are opportunities….to trust. To be refined. To be strengthened.

If I will just turn down the volume on my inner fleshly shouting match, I can more clearly hear the gentle whisper of God in moments like these. And trust that these moments of “resistance” are making me stronger. Making me more like Jesus. And instead of responding with fear, worry or anger when He lovingly increases the amount of weights, I can trust that the end result is for His glory.

READY? Who’s causing resistance in your life these days? Spouse? Children? In-laws? Co-workers? Neighbors? Or What’s causing resistance? Finances? Job? Health? How are you responding to the resistance? Whatever it may be, I challenge you to see these things as opportunities to strengthen your spiritual muscles. Opportunities to trust God and deepen your faith.

GET SET. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

GO! Heavenly Father, it is hard for me to welcome resistance in my life because of my sin nature. Please open the eyes of my heart to see times of difficulty as opportunities to trust you and for my faith to be strengthened. Thank you for your faithfulness to me during these times even when I doubt. Praise you for your power in my life. Amen

 

resistance builds strength

 

Blessings to you!

Lisa Preuett 

When Your Plans Are Interrupted

Lisa Preuett

Ever make plans to do something only to have those plans come to a screeching halt? You think you’re going to accomplish a desired task and then something happens, totally taking you in a different direction. Last week was crazy for us as it started out with my husband losing his job unexpectedly. (Read my post here for a fresh perspective of that day: (https://reststopforthesoul.com/2014/06/24/shocked-but-not-shaken)

The week continued in such a way, that every time I planned to do something, my plans were totally interrupted:

We’d planned to spend the day at the pool with our son and his girlfriend, but then their car broke down. Interruption!

Hurrying out the door, I’d planned to go for a long run in my neighborhood, but then the phone rang and it turned into a 30 minute conversation. Interruption!

I had a long overdue hair appointment, but the friend who does my hair had a family emergency come up and she had to cancel. Interruption!

We’d just put our boat in the lake Friday evening to join friends on their jet ski, but then it rained. Interruption!

It’s one thing if my plans are interrupted once in a while, but it’s another when it happens multiple times over the course of several days! There might be something God is trying to teach me. He has my attention. I’d better be listening.

God is certainly teaching me that I am not in control. It’s not wrong to plan things and organize the time He’s given us, but if I hold too tightly to MY plans, I’m setting myself up for disappointment. If I don’t look to Him when these interruptions occur, I’m bound to be upset. Frustrated.  Angry. Demanding.

I am NOT in control, but I serve a God who is. He sees the bigger picture. He has a higher plan. And He knows exactly what I need. And what I’ve seen over the course of these few days of constant interruptions is that other people are in the picture too. IT’S NOT ABOUT ME!

In each of the situations I mentioned above, I could label it an interruption. But when I genuinely pray to see things through God’s perspective and ask Him to show me how to respond, something amazing happens. What I label as interruptions, God sometimes calls interventions. Yes, I can see these events as opportunities when God intervenes and redirects my paths. He then intervenes in my heart and sometimes in the hearts of those around me.

Let me walk you through these interruptions again, but this time, view them through a different lens. God’s lens of interventions:

When the car broke down we couldn’t go to the pool, but over the course of the next several hours, my husband and son got to spend some quality time together under the hood of a car. One-on-one time that would not have happened at a swimming pool. We also got to witness God’s amazing power unfold through prayer. As we were making plans to have the car towed, it suddenly started up. Intervention!

When I was going out the door for a run and the phone rang, it was a family member I hadn’t talked to in a long time. She encouraged me during a much-needed time as I shared with her our situation with Jim’s sudden job loss. Intervention!

After I finally got to complete my run, a neighbor was pulling into her driveway at the exact time I was turning to go home. She was having a challenging morning and needed some encouragement and prayer. If the phone call hadn’t come when it did to delay my run, I would have missed the opportunity. Intervention!

When my hair appointment had to be cancelled, it freed up my day to spend more time with a friend who needed encouragement and allowed me some much-needed time to work on a project I’d been putting off. Intervention!

When we were on the lake and it started to rain, our friends who were riding their jet ski boarded our boat to take cover. I got to spend some quality time connecting with my friend. Time we wouldn’t have had if she’d been on the jet ski. Intervention!

How many times have I missed God’s blessing and overlooked His interventions because I was so absorbed in my own plans? How many times have I missed connecting with someone because I was too angry about my plans being interrupted? How many times have I focused on myself to the point I couldn’t see someone else in need? How many times have I demanded Why God? Instead of  whispering What now God?

And so I ask you the same questions, dear friend: Will you allow God to show you His way when your plans are interrupted? Will you allow God to show you His perspective when life doesn’t go as planned? It might be something as trivial as a cancelled hair appointment or it might be something more serious like a sudden job loss. Whatever it might be, I want to encourage you and challenge you to look for what God is trying to teach you in those moments. It might be something he wants to refine in you. Or He may be re-directing your path so you can connect with someone else.

It’s challenging to always respond the right way when our plans are interrupted! We won’t always get it right every time. But I’m so glad I serve a God who is gracious, patient and loving enough to keep giving me opportunities to see His interventions for what they are….and not as interruptions.

Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s mind plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.”

God'sWayMan'sWay